(May 27, 2009) Welcome to my new guest column on Southern Maryland Online - it's an honor to be the conservative voice for the readers out there who believe both sides of the story matter in a vibrant republic such as ours. Southern Maryland has a more balanced political landscape than much of the state and I look forward to engaging in a dialog with you about the issues that matter to us, our families and our communities.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a transplant who moved to Calvert County in 2001 after receiving a political appointment to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. I landed here because a long-time Air Force colleague of mine and a "brother from another mother" lives here and persuaded me that this was the place to be in the DC metro area.
I live in Huntingtown in central Calvert County, and that is the basis for a funny story about our move here. Because most people are accustomed to Hunting-TON rather than Hunting-TOWN, our furniture was nearly delivered to Huntington, Virginia!
We love living here. The school system is one of the best in the state and it's a great place to raise a family. At night, when the skies are clear, I'm convinced you can see more stars here than just about anywhere else.
I've traveled through much of southern Maryland during my years here, particularly in my 2006 campaign against 5th District congressman Steny Hoyer. His district includes all three counties - Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's. Even though my political territory got smaller when I was asked and accepted the challenge to run against Maryland Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller (anyone know how he gets "Mike" out of "Thomas V."?), I made many friends throughout the region and remain in contact with them.
I'm a 2nd-generation Air Force veteran so until I settled here in Calvert County, I lived the nomadic lifestyle of a military family, living in 12 different states and three foreign countries over the course of my travels. My father served for more than 22 years and I served for over nine years as an intelligence officer, attaining the rank of Captain before going into the private sector. Once I landed here as a political appointee, I served at FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Small Business Administration, returning to the private sector in 2004 where I've been ever since with the exception of one brief stint as a chief strategy officer at the American Red Cross National Headquarters. Public sector, private sector, non-profit sector, the armed forces - I've done it all!
I've been a conservative for 31 years, beginning in 1978 when I came to the realization that liberals didn't stand for anything my parents taught me or in which I believed. The first political campaign I worked was a race for U.S. Congress in Texas between Kent Hance, a Democrat and local attorney, and a young Midland oilman named George W. Bush. He didn't win but I became very active in GOP politics after that, serving as the Texas Tech University co-chairman for the George Bush for President campaign, executive vice-chairman of the College Republicans of Texas, a GOP precinct chairman, and a charter member of the Black Republicans of Texas. My Air Force career interrupted my political activities and it wasn't until 2006 when I ran for office for the first time that I rejoined the fray.
Despite losing my first election, I was selected as Calvert County's Republican Man of the Year in 2007 and I am the communications director for the Calvert County GOP, a role I describe as my perfect work - if only I were being paid for it! In addition to the blog on my Team Ron Miller website, I'm a regular contributor to RegularFolksUnited.com, where I offer my opinion on current events, policies and trends on the national level, and Red County, where I blog about politics from a center-right and state/regional perspective. I work hard to ensure each of my sponsors gets quality and original posts from me, so it's a good thing I've used an ergonomic keyboard for years. The "D", "M", and "Q" keys are fading already, but I don't know if that's normal or not!
I'm celebrating our 25th anniversary this year with my wife Annik (ah-NEEK), and my two daughters are both seniors this upcoming school year, one at Huntingtown High School and the other at the University of Maryland in College Park. My son begins 9th grade next year and, to use the words of his buddies at school, he's a beast - taller than me, bigger shoe size and deeper voice at 14!
That's enough about me - I look forward to getting to know you and sharing my opinions. While I'm at my best when I'm jabbing at liberals, I try to be fair; after all, some of my best friends are liberals (grin)! Welcome - we'll see you next Wednesday!
Ron Miller, of Huntingtown, is a conservative blogger and activist, former and future candidate for the Maryland Senate, and communications director for the Calvert County Republican Party. Ron is a regular contributor to RegularFolksUnited.com, RedCounty.com, and ProLifeUnity.com. You can also follow Ron on his website TeamRonMiller.com, as well as Twitter and Facebook.